1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of portable computing devices and, more particularly, to a portable communication device and method for providing medical assistance.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the ever rising costs of medical care, there is a need for providing detailed medical assistance that is cost effective, yet still comprehensive. For years, many medical providers and seekers have turned to “live-in” nurses or nurses that make home visits on a daily basis to provide routine medical care and monitoring. Although such methods have enjoyed some success, the overall costs, and even effectiveness, of such models has left a void.
As communications systems have advanced, the void has been filled by some devices. For instance, devices have been manufactured that can initiate an emergency signal to emergency services when activated by the user. A user may initiate such a signal when the user has been injured in a fall and cannot resume normal movement.
Although helpful, such a device has severe limitations. One limitation is that the device is not an “aware” or “smart” device in that the device must rely on user input. The device only signals the emergency service when the user activates the device for that purpose. Further, the device merely acts as conduit for communication between the user and the emergency services. Such a device cannot provide the user with any helpful information, and more importantly, the device cannot provide the emergency service with any vital information that could possibly be used to save the user's life.
Although hospitals have provided systems to monitor a patient's biometric statistics, the monitoring typically requires a patient to be bedridden for effective monitoring. Additionally, the monitoring of the different substances and materials prescribed to a patient is typically monitored by a nurse and/or doctor. Nevertheless, the misallocation and the improper prescription of materials to patients results in multiple accidents on a yearly basis. These accidents can be life threatening or worse and can expose insurance companies to great liability.
Therefore, there exists a need for a material management program that can prevent the misallocation and/or improper prescription of materials. Further, this need not only exists in the hospital, but also exists outside of the hospital environment.